Pursing a pro-biological lifestyle

Yesterday was my parent’s anniversary, and besides the bought presents I wanted to make a special treat. Not having a tone of time and ingredients, I scoured my panty and happily found leftover marzipan (sweetened almond) paste from Easter. A light bulb came on – bake free easy treat!

In a bowl, mix the paste and cacao ( or the almond paste, honey and cacao) until there is a marbling. Pinch off about 1.5 cm (half inch) pieces and roll them into spheres. Cover each sphere evenly with coconut flakes. Serve or store in a cool place to firm.

Dandelion is abundantly infesting my lawn (maybe yours, too). This is no reason to dispair, since dandelion is and has been a prized medicinal plant throughout human history for its many healing properties of gastric complaints, spleen and liver issues, hepatitis, even anorexia.

Dandelions grow in many places, and are associated with many plants like sagebrish and blueberries. Bees gather dandelion pollen for honey, birds and other small animals can feed off them, as well as poltury and pigs. The only problem is that they an be a bit invasive, with their strong taproots growing up to 10 feet deep, but the taproot can be used in so many ways – like tea.

As a digression, there was an episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman where Dr. Quinn cured (and accurately diagnosed) her mother of hepatitis after the Boston doctors declared her incurable with daily infusions of dandelion root tea (yes I know it’s fiction, but the writers could’ve based the story on some truth).

Dr. Quinn – wasn’t she the greatest? She was inspirational in so many ways.

The procedure is quite easy, if not a bit of a workout. The main work is pulling the dandelion plant with a maximally intact root (since intact taproots will regrow, and as much as I love dandelion, no need for an infestation). Using a sturdy pitchfork or a garden screwdriver (I’m not sure if it’s actually called that, but it does the trick), the job can be done.

To get roots for dandelion tea or coffee, you have to cut off the roots, wash them in a bucket of water or the sink about 2-3 times (until they are maximally free of mud/debris), lay them out to dry. After they are decently dry, cut them on a cutting board and set aside to further dry – depending on weather and conditions it can take about 1-2 weeks. For tea, just store and add boiling water to infuse. It’s good to mix a tablespoon of dandelion root, with a teaspoon of chamomile, linden flower, and mint. Most aromatic herbal leaf or flower combinations work well.

For coffee, the excess drying is not necessary. Blend them in a food processor until they are coursely ground, and them either heat then in a cast iron pan or pot until they are evently cinnamon brown (about 7-10 minutes, depending on heat), or roast them on a sheet in the oven, 250 F (120 C) for about an hour and a half, mixing them every 30 minutes. The leaves can be dried alongside the roots, or frozen for later.

The flowers can be gathered for wine, or for a cough expectorant elixir, which I can vouch for. You need about 100-120 flower heads (it’s actually not that hard to gather on a lawn). A quart or liter glass jar will be the incubator. Take a few heads, pour a little brown sugar or honey on them and mash, doing half inch (1 cm) layers of flowers, adding the sugar or honey, and repeat until the jar takes in all the flowers. Put in a cool dark place for a few days until all the juices let out. Drain the elixir in a bottle and store.

After that I add some more honey (about 2 tablespoons), pour over with spirits, and let the flowers infuse their full potential into the spirits (ethylene alcohol – 90% is good 😉 ). After about 2-3 weeks, the flowers will appear drained. Store in cool dark place as well. Here’s to that – cheers and good health!